02/06/2015

KCW, Winter: Four, Upcycled Greenpoint Cardigan...

Henry is decidedly a pullover sweater kind of kid while Violet is most definitely a cardigan kind of kid. Of course that is part to do with the fact that, for some reason, Henry seems to think that "boys don't wear cardigans". Anyway, I've had the Greenpoint cardigan pattern for at least a year now and had yet to make one. Recently I saw this adorable one and thought it was high time I make Violet a fun cardigan!

I love the way this sweater turned out. A little bit "hodgepodgey" but cute and fun, and surely snuggly!

That being said, it certainly wasn't without headache! Ugh! None of the problems had to do with the pattern itself. The problems were either dumb mistakes or challenges due to up cycling. First, challenge, getting my pattern pieces to fit onto the sweaters that I was up cycling...I didn't have enough sweater for the neckband so I had to piece together a few pieces of the green and then added a bit of light blue for the other side, the side that the buttons are on.

I think it turned out nicely, but figuring it all out and cutting the bits and pieces were tedious. Then, I had initially cut out two green striped sleeves, but alas, I cut out two left arms! Grrr...so two different arms were born...

I actually think it was a good mistake though. Violet loves the two different arms, which is great because she wasn't too thrilled with the striped arm idea in the first place, but one of each she likes!

And then, sigh, I sewed the fronts onto the sleeves the wrong way and proceeded to sew the sides and arms up before I even realized it! So, I had to pick out a ridiculous amount of stitches from the sides, arms, and front of the sweater! That took forever! But all of the mistakes were well worth it.

I used existing hems for the bottom and sleeves again.

Somehow the sleeves ended up quite long though, so we had to roll them a bit. I added patch pockets with little red hearts to "match" Henry's sweater which both Violet and Henry got a kick out of.

I put in one more button hole than the pattern calls for because Violet isn't a fan of deep V's, which meant that I didn't have quite enough buttons, thus the one pop of red...

In the end, despite my challenges, I love the way it turned out. It is a little bit big (I sewed up an 8 knowing I wanted it to fit for next year too) but Violet likes it that way, it's more "comfy" that way.

Phew, I am so glad that she likes it, because...there was some cursing!

Comments

Henry is decidedly a pullover sweater kind of kid while Violet is most definitely a cardigan kind of kid. Of course that is part to do with the fact that, for some reason, Henry seems to think that "boys don't wear cardigans". Anyway, I've had the Greenpoint cardigan pattern for at least a year now and had yet to make one. Recently I saw this adorable one and thought it was high time I make Violet a fun cardigan!

I love the way this sweater turned out. A little bit "hodgepodgey" but cute and fun, and surely snuggly!

That being said, it certainly wasn't without headache! Ugh! None of the problems had to do with the pattern itself. The problems were either dumb mistakes or challenges due to up cycling. First, challenge, getting my pattern pieces to fit onto the sweaters that I was up cycling...I didn't have enough sweater for the neckband so I had to piece together a few pieces of the green and then added a bit of light blue for the other side, the side that the buttons are on.

I think it turned out nicely, but figuring it all out and cutting the bits and pieces were tedious. Then, I had initially cut out two green striped sleeves, but alas, I cut out two left arms! Grrr...so two different arms were born...

I actually think it was a good mistake though. Violet loves the two different arms, which is great because she wasn't too thrilled with the striped arm idea in the first place, but one of each she likes!

And then, sigh, I sewed the fronts onto the sleeves the wrong way and proceeded to sew the sides and arms up before I even realized it! So, I had to pick out a ridiculous amount of stitches from the sides, arms, and front of the sweater! That took forever! But all of the mistakes were well worth it.

I used existing hems for the bottom and sleeves again.

Somehow the sleeves ended up quite long though, so we had to roll them a bit. I added patch pockets with little red hearts to "match" Henry's sweater which both Violet and Henry got a kick out of.

I put in one more button hole than the pattern calls for because Violet isn't a fan of deep V's, which meant that I didn't have quite enough buttons, thus the one pop of red...

In the end, despite my challenges, I love the way it turned out. It is a little bit big (I sewed up an 8 knowing I wanted it to fit for next year too) but Violet likes it that way, it's more "comfy" that way.

Phew, I am so glad that she likes it, because...there was some cursing!

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I'm Jane, thanks for stopping by! I hope you take your time and take a look around...If you do you'll our adventures in sewing, creating, crafting, gardening and exploring...it's what gets us through the day and fullfills us!
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